Thumbs down
To the NFL for the harsh fine it handed Titans owner Bud Adams for giving a single-digit salute - with both hands - to the Bills sideline during his team's 41-17 victory Sunday. Adams was fined $250,000 for his actions. That's as much as the Patriots were fined last year for Spygate (Patriots coach Bill Belichick received a separate $500,000 fine for that).
"I got caught up in the excitement of a great day, but I do realize that those types of things shouldn't happen," Adams said.
It wasn't the classiest thing an owner has ever done, but $250,000 for flipping the bird seems a little over the top. Mike Vick was only fined $10,000 in 2006 when he gave Falcons fans who were heckling him the finger.
Thumbs down
To the Raiders' clueless quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, who was dumbfounded last week when he was benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski in the second half of the Raiders' 16-10 loss to the Chiefs. The guy has a 47.7 passer rating. He had completed just eight of 24 passes and had failed to convert a third down against a Chiefs' passing defense that was ranked 30th in the league, and he couldn't believe they gave him the hook. Wow.
"Things were going OK," Russell said. "I thought we were doing pretty good."
- Paul Domowitch
